Koda and Baxter's Adventures

This is Koda's story, as seen on the Brazoria County Humane Society page:



TREAD'S TALE AND UPDATE:
Just before noon on Monday a very special puppy was rushed to my hospital via the Brazoria County Humane Society by their do-it-all volunteer/savior, Connie. A person found this puppy had taken the pup to a county animal shelter and was turned down for help so since Connie was there he g

ave the pup to her and she hurried him right to us. I could see why. “Tread” was the name Connie gave him due to the obvious trauma from a car tire. Tread was awake, alert, and very young, probably six to eight weeks old. It didn't take a long examination to determine its source. Half of Tread’s femur (the thighbone) was pointing up at me through the huge hole that was in the side of his right leg. Among the dirt and shredded muscles from which it protruded I noticed a pink, smooth donut shaped thing. As I examined further my heart sank. I quickly disinfected the pink mass and pushed it back into its proper location… Tread’s abdomen. I gave Tread some morphine and discussed the situation with Connie. Tread had a perforated abdomen and the exposure of his intestines to the outside world made infection a dire certainty. Even with proper care, Tread probably would die from his injuries. But

Tread has a chance. At that moment, I would say it was roughly 30%. And he certainly would need to have his leg amputated. I spoke with Shirley, the head of the Brazoria County Humane Society, a short time later and relayed this to her. I was blunt with her about his prognosis and the considerable expense it would take for him to recover. Shirley has a lot of experience in these situations and she made a call that I completely supported: she told me to do whatever I could do to make him better. SHE BELIEVES SHE CAN RAISE THE MONEY AND I AGREE. Tread has a long road to recovery, but he is young, he is sweet, and he deserves a chance. Tread was rushed to surgery by my skilled technicians who kept him alive and kept the rest of his body thriving while I repaired the massive damage to his rear end. The abdominal tear was much worse than I feared. We flushed out his abdomen, provided him with antibiotics and fluid support and I sutured his abdomen back together. He did amazingly well despite his condition and age. We placed a drain in his abdomen to help us remove infected fluid that was sure to be an issue after surgery. His leg was cleaned and I reduced the fractured femur back into place. I examined some road rash that occurred to the end of his p***s and said a silent prayer that an inability to urinate wouldn’t be Tread’s undoing. I decided not to place a catheter in the damaged tissue to see if Tread could urinate the old fashioned way first. Jason Phillips carefully bandaged the leg and drain tube in place and Tread was isolated in recovery until he was stable enough for the next step. This morning I arrived at work and was greeted by Jason who said that Tread was doing really well! He had eaten a lot of food, he was perky and frisky, and Jason had administered the medication plan that we had in place. I checked him out and was stunned by his progress. I told Jason that it looks like Tread wants us to get back to work and fix his leg before he gets an infection from it in his bloodstream. I’d figured we wouldn't have him in condition for this for two more days, but clearly Tread was ready to get right to it. Much to my surprise, Tread was heading back to surgery this afternoon. Furthermore, Tread urinated and had a BM during the day, which was a great sign following his first surgery. With Jason’s help, as well as Kayla and Chelsea, two other assistants at Sienna Plantation Animal Hospital, I amputated the carnage that was Tread’s back right leg this afternoon. Once again, Tread did an amazing job handling the surgery. It is remarkable that a creature that has only been on this earth for less than two months is able to handle so much. He will have a wonderful quality of life despite having only three legs, and more importantly, an infection from the contaminated wound will not be a life threatening issue. Tread is doing well. He is sleeping in his bed. His abdominal drainage is a happy pink color instead of the dreaded milky yellow indicative of a bad infection. His pain is under control. His vital signs are normal. He is a remarkable little guy. He still has a long way to go. He could still get a deadly infection from his abdominal wounds. He could go into shock. As he grows he could suffer hernias and other complications due to the massive damage to his abdominal wall. But he has a chance and it is getting better and better with each passing moment. As my assistant Chelsea said during his recovery this afternoon, if he makes it he is going to have a heck of a story to tell. Brian E. Smith, DVM
Sienna Plantation Animal Hospital
7/16/2013